In a shock result, the Conservatives fell eight seats short of the 326 seats needed to maintain control of the House of Commons, but will stay in power under what is expected to be an informal arrangement with the 10-strong Democratic Unionist group.

Mrs May has faced calls to quit from within her own party, with Anna Soubry saying she should consider her position after a "disastrous" campaign.

However, other MPs have urged her to stay on, with Iain Duncan Smith saying a leadership contest would be a "catastrophe".

On Friday, Mrs May confirmed five top cabinet ministers would remain in place, including Chancellor Philip Hammond and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.

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David Jones backs Theresa May as "the strongest leader we have at the moment"

Welsh Conservative policy director, Darren Millar AM, blamed a campaign which he said focused too much on the personality of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn instead of promoting a "positive vision for the future".

Cabinet Office Minister Ben Gummer was one of a number of Conservative ministers who lost their seats in a Labour fightback, leaving vacancies to be filled in a reshuffle.

In reassembling her ministerial team, Mrs May will be under pressure to choose figures who will help unify the party and restore her authority following a disappointing election result.